Medieval Armenian writers describe several kinds of goussan, i.e. poets and musicians. The vibassan, like the Greek Aoidos of Homer’s era, take charge of the epic narratives, the govassan are specialized in narratives of praise, which are common in the Armenian tradition, and the ashugh are the performers of a lyric, most often courtly poetry, a little like our own troubadours. Sayat-Nova (18th century) is the great master of the art of the ashugh: his refined poetry was intended for the court and expresses all the nuances of romantic feeling, but it also excels at other themes: odes to its instrument – the kamancheh – or statements of the power of its writing facing royal power. Born in a rural region on the border with Georgia, Djivani (19th century) was a highly reputed and very popular ashugh. He sang about friendship, love of the native soil, despair overcome…